Verus
Verus (lit. Truth) is a mysterious Shinigami of mysterious origins. A powerful foe when roused, Verus is an enigma whom even his friends sometimes have trouble understanding. One such friend noted that Verus was the kind of person that was capable of either great good or great evil. Marked as a complex individual, he is an appreciated ally when he joins a cause, but a feared enemy when on the other side. He holds the moniker, Verus of the Flowing Water (流水のヴェルス, Ryūsui no Verus) for his abilities, and unpredictability. Background Under Construction Appearance Verus has been shown to possess light brown skin, dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes to match. His attire tends to lean towards dark colors, and black or some lighter shade of it can be seen at least partially in nearly all of his wardrobe. Typically he wears a loose black t-shirt, as well as a pair of khaki cargo pants. For footwear, he typically wears regular black shoes from the World of the Living. He has never been seen wearing the typical Shinigami garb. His expression is typically calm, his eyes are usually set either in a state of analysis or thoughtfulness, and in full his expression can either seem kind or cold. Personality and Traits Verus is an intelligent, introverted being who can come off as either distant and detached, or warm and welcoming; at times he has problems balancing these two disparate sides of his nature. He has charisma and can draw people to him. Though alternately focused and indifferent, he is not hard to know. Analytical, iconoclastic, and at times rebellious, he is rather unpredictable in thought and action. He doesn't give his trust to everyone, and those who don't qualify may find themselves ignored or sharply criticized at some point. With his strongest trait being that of curiousity, along with being liberal and independent-minded, he is never truly satisfied if he isn't free to do as he wishes. His talent in perceiving the motives of others is extraordinary, and he is highly free-thinking and unconventional. However, he does have a habit of not always being the most reliable of people, though it is clear that he possesses a humanitarian attitude, and is not as unreliable when such things fit his beliefs and interests. A key trait of Verus' lies in the fact that he manages to be both magnanimous, and vindictive; while he is tolerant of many petty wrongs, when roused he can be intolerant of things in the beginning and highly vindictive. In the long run though his tolerance shows; rarely holding grudges. He is also noted for practicality and not being above manipulation, though it is clear he generally only manipulates those he feels deserve it; never those less fortunate, or those who have shown compassion. Verus is also shown to possess a highly scheming mind; as well as more than capable of deception. Also being an obstinate individual, creates a person that is intelligent, magnanimous, charismatic, charming, authoritative, confident, eloquent and artistic, but can also be tyrannical, bombastic, deceitful, imperious, and ruthless. Powers and Abilities Combat Prowess: Verus has shown to favor self-defensive fighting. He repeatedly shows great instincts and intuition in battle. He is generally aware of everything in his presence and also able to see through most deceptions. He can easily formulate strategies to counter attacks and defenses. In combat, Verus has been shown to be a superb swordsman; he often attacks rapidly from side-to-side, confusing the opponent, leaving a trail of after-images behind him. He has demonstrated to be quite proficient at hand to hand combat, using a style of kung fu known as drunken boxing. This is an extremely unpredictable style that he puts to good use. Rarely using punches, he prefers to keep his opponent off-balance so that eventually they'll knock themselves down. As a master of this style he easily manages to do so for most foes, and it his prefered form of combat. Master of Stealth: Verus has shown that he is readily an expert in the areas of stealth and assassination; being able to infiltrate, lockpick, thieve, and easily remain undetected. An expert in this field, Verus has been known to even surprise some of the grandmasters of the Sejin Order at his mobility through his ability to appear and disappear without them even noticing. Master of Manipulation and Negotiation: Verus has been shown to be able to easily manipulate people into giving him the preferred outcome of events; as well as being shown as a mediator in events within debates and arguements. Normally speaking, he is unbiased during such events and has been shown to be able to end such things through words instead of actions. His perception and curiosity are extraordinary, and he is able to easily guess a persons mood and guilt when he wishes. Vast Spiritual Power: Verus has been noted to have an odd spiritual pressure; in that he can easily supress it into nothingness when needed if he needs to hide. He naturally has it supressed even when sleeping, though when he wants to he can reveal that he holds incredibly high amounts of reiatsu; being able to easily startle most shinigami with its true nature. When he wishes his reiatsu will become visible; revealing it to be a pitch black hue. The true nature of Verus' ability with his spiritual pressure involves his power over the elements of freedom, wind. Verus can seemingly manipulate the north winds; which he has stated he has an affinity towards. What this precisely means is unknown. Flash Step Master: Having a style of fighting that focuses greatly on speed and mobility, Verus is a master of flash step. Kido Mastery: Verus has demonstrated the ability and knowledge to use high level kido; even low level kido spells can easily cause large amounts of damage in his control. Zanpakutō Nagisa (渚 lit. Water's Edge) is Verus' Zanpakutō. Verus seems to share a strong connection to Nagisa, which, while within his inner world, takes the form of a small rat. His inner world, takes the form of a lake with a sandy beach during midnight. Nagisa's blade takes the form of a ninjato; the sheath itself is longer than the blade, and so the foe can miscalculate how long it takes Verus to quickly draw and slash with his blade based on the sheathe's length, which is that of a normal katana. *'Shikai': Nagisa is released by the command, "Drown" (濡らす, Nurasu). When released, Nagisa dissolves into the atmosphere as it seemingly melts into water and becomes one with the water throughout the area. As a weapon of water however, it can reform into any weapon Verus wishes, though since he prefers hand to hand, this is rarely needed. Verus' reiatsu barely changes when he releases; it even seems to have almost disappeared. Unless he wishes, only the most powerful of foes can detect him through his reiatsu. On the other hand, Verus can also make his reiatsu appear bigger than it really is; scaring less-experienced foes easily. :Shikai Special Ability: Verus has stated that Nagisa's ability is control over water. While not particularly false, it is also far from the truth. Nagisa can in fact manipulate water, but this is merely part of its power. Nagisa grants manipulation of the theory of creation and destruction known as Wu Xing; granting him power over everything affiliated with Water in this cycle. In Wu Xing water is affiliated with various things including mental quality, emotions, organs, body parts, senses, and even an aspect of life. In tune with the Chinese system of Feng Shui, certain things within the world, when within the area Verus is in, will help augment Nagisa's power. Wu Xing, being a concept of creation and destruction, allows Verus to generate or augment water through other elements, as well as destroy the elements of fire or metal and their various affilitions. This fact can be a horrifying relevation to enemies, as the two elements have just as many affiliations; fire is even affiliated to the heart. Wu Xing isn't just destruction though, it is also creation, and Nagisa also has healing and other supportive abilities. For this power, Nagisa has been called the strongest water-type zanpakuto in Soul Society. :*'Namimakura' (波枕 lit. Falling Asleep to the Sound of the Ocean): Not Yet Revealed :*'Youzon Hissori' (溶存ひっそり lit. Quiet Dissolution): Not Yet Revealed *'Bankai': Not Yet Revealed Trivia *Verus' theme is Awake and Alive by Skillet. *Verus' hobbies are origami, piano, and reading. *Verus wishes for life to not be as complicated as it is in reality, even though that is an impossible dream. *Verus' favorite food is guotie (potstickers), and his favorite drinks are cream soda and hot cocoa; with his least favorite food being seafood. *Verus' favorite word is "retribution" (応報, Ouhou)